Urban gardening on a diminished scale

February 6, 2017

In a Vase on Monday

I’ve noticed Cathy’s In a Vase on Monday a few times, and have now finally been inspired to participate, not only in actually going out into the garden to look for something, but then to find a vase and to write about it. The problem at this time of year is that a garden this small, with so little sun, has very little to offer. I could try to be artful with dead ferns or the trampled stems of old phlomis, but these always seem to look better in the brown bin than in a vase.

So imagine my delight when I pottered out there yesterday and discovered that the sweet box is actually flowering. It is also healthy, glossy, vigorous and fragrant. The perfect candidate. I’d been hoping for a sprig of Hamamelis, but the garden side of the internet seems to be awash with this right now, so I was almost grateful that mine was discounted by its poor performance.

The vase is an old beer stein which has been knocking around the family for as long as I can remember. I thought it had a suitably northern European Wintry demeanour.

And the best thing about this is the extraordinary fragrance. It literally fills the room. Cheaper than a bloody scented candle.

Share this:

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Published by halfagarden

This square of green is all that’s left of a much larger plot. For years its sunnier other half, now owned by neighbours, has sat tantalizingly beyond a broken fence and a tangle of unkempt shrubs and climbers. Its lack of scale has limited my ambition and I have cared for it with a shameful lack of real commitment, one eye on the promised land beyond the fence. Now, scarred by a recent unsuccessful bid to buy it back, I am forced to readjust my own ambitions for the portion I am left with. I am making my peace with it.
It is half a garden… View all posts by halfagarden

2 thoughts on “In a Vase on Monday”

Try a couple of sprigs of sarcococca in the hallway. If it’s near (but not right next to) a radiator, the scent will rise on the air and fill the house if you leave doors open. Best air freshener money can’t buy!